‘Old Vilnius’, fascicle I, title page

Jerzy Hoppen (1891–1969), a famous interwar restorer, graphic artist and painter of Vilnius, was born in Kaunas. He attended Kaunas gymnasium, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków in 1913, and between 1914 and 1917 he lived in St Petersburg. He visited the Hermitage, and admired and copied works there by Rembrandt, Velasquez and Van Dyck. He was forced to flee to Kazan and Krasnoyarsk during the First World War, but he returned to Vilnius in 1921. He studied at Stephen Báthory University, and in 1931 he began to teach there. Hoppen was one of the founders of the Vilnius Society of Artists, and headed it from 1927 to 1931. He painted portraits, landscapes and compositions, but he was best known for his etchings. As an admirer and follower of the Vilnius art tradition, he loved 17th and 18th-century Baroque, knew the city’s architecture and its history very well, and participated in the restoration of the churches. Between 1924 and 1927, Hoppen made a series of etchings called Stare Wilno (Old Vilnius), which consisted of three fascicles. The first appeared in 1924, the second in 1926, and the third in 1927. He later created separate sheets that were also devoted to Vilnius.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė

Jerzy Hoppen (1891–1969), a famous interwar restorer, graphic artist and painter of Vilnius, was born in Kaunas. He attended Kaunas gymnasium, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków in 1913, and between 1914 and 1917 he lived in St Petersburg. He visited the Hermitage, and admired and copied works there by Rembrandt, Velasquez and Van Dyck. He was forced to flee to Kazan and Krasnoyarsk during the First World War, but he returned to Vilnius in 1921. He studied at Stephen Báthory University, and in 1931 he began to teach there. Hoppen was one of the founders of the Vilnius Society of Artists, and headed it from 1927 to 1931. He painted portraits, landscapes and compositions, but he was best known for his etchings. As an admirer and follower of the Vilnius art tradition, he loved 17th and 18th-century Baroque, knew the city’s architecture and its history very well, and participated in the restoration of the churches. Between 1924 and 1927, Hoppen made a series of etchings called Stare Wilno (Old Vilnius), which consisted of three fascicles. The first appeared in 1924, the second in 1926, and the third in 1927. He later created separate sheets that were also devoted to Vilnius.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė